VOL. XLI

No. 42

19-October-1998

IRAN

Iranian Parliament Approves Emergency Bill To Offset Rising BudgetDeficit

The Iranian parliament on 14 October approved a bill for an emergencyrescue package to deal with an IR17,900bn ($5.97bn at $1=IR3,000) budget deficit in thecurrent fiscal year 1376 (which started on 21 March 1998), caused primarily by the slumpin oil revenue. According to Dr. Mohammad Ali Najafi, the head of Irans Plan andBudget Organization, revenue from oil exports in the first half...